Queensland

Located in north-eastern Australia, Queensland is the country's second-largest state. It has a land area of 1,723,936 kilometres and a coastline length of 13,347 kilometres. Its coastline borders the Pacific Ocean, Coral Sea and Gulf of Carpentaria. The Northern Territory lies to the west, New South Wales to the south, and South Australia to the south-west.

Known as the Sunshine State for its sunny weather, Queensland is often considered the holiday playground of Australia. Its beaches and tropical islands make it a prime travel destination for Australians and international visitors alike. Home to the world's largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef extends about 2,300 kilometres along its coast. West of the coast is Queensland's outback, a vast arid region with many national parks. Five World Heritage areas are located in Queensland: the Great Barrier Reef, the Gondwana Rainforests, the Wet Tropics, the Riversleigh fossil site and Fraser Island.

About two-thirds of Queensland's population lives along the coast. Key cities are the capital city of Brisbane, Cairns, Townsville, Gold Coast and Gladstone.

Historical Perspective

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were the earliest inhabitants of Queensland. Historians believe migrants from the Indonesia archipelago first settled in the Torres Strait about 70,000 years ago and Aboriginal peoples lived in Queensland at least 30,000 to 40,000 years ago.

Europeans first sighted Queensland in the 1600s: Spanish navigator Luis Váez de Torres sailed through the Torres Strait in 1606, and Dutch explorer Willem Jansz came ashore at Cape York Peninsula that same year. The British established the Moreton Bay Penal Settlement in 1825. The penal colony closed in 1839, and the governor decided that year to open the area up to free settlement, but free settlement was not officially allowed until 1842. On 10 December 1859, Queen Victoria of England proclaimed the region a colony separate from New South Wales and granted it self-government.

In 1867 Queensland passed the Aboriginal Protection and Restriction of the Sale of Opium Act 1867, which gave the government control over the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Queensland. Subsequent amendments and acts further restricted their freedoms. In 1879 Queensland annexed the Torres Strait islands.

Queensland joined five other colonies to form the Federation of Australia in 1901. In the 1992 landmark decision of Mabo v. Queensland (No. 2), Australia's High Court acknowledged the right of the Torres Strait Islanders of the Murray Islands to possess, occupy, use and enjoy most of the lands of the Murray Islands. This decision led to later national legislation that granted native title rights to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia.

Geography and Climate

Queensland has a diverse landscape dominated by its islands, plains and coastlines. The Great Dividing Range runs parallel to the eastern coast. The Great Artesian Basin lies under most of the state.

Much of Queensland has a tropical or subtropical climate. Temperatures, humidity and rainfall are highest in the far north region, which stretches from Cairns to the Torres Strait. Typical summer temperatures in the far north range from 20 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius. The north-east coastal area is warm and humid and has annual rainfalls of around 400 centimetres. The central and southern coastal areas have cooler temperatures and less rainfall, with the Gold Coast experiencing sunshine for around three hundred days of the year. Brisbane, in the far south, typically has an average temperature of 20.3 degrees Celsius and an annual rainfall of about 116 centimetres a year.

Parts of northern Queensland have a tropical rainforest climate, while subtropical rainforests and cool temperate rainforests are found in the central and southern coastal areas. Semi-arid, desert, and steppe climates are found in the interior.

Queensland has over 14,000 native species of plants, with more than 3,000 plant species unique to the state. Queensland has the most diverse native flowering plant, gymnosperm and fern species of all the Australian states. Unique species of grasses, eucalypts, wattles, myrtles, cycads and ferns are found in many of the state's ecosystems. Common animal species of Queensland are bats, kangaroos, brush turkeys, cassowaries, possums, snakes, crocodiles and whales.

Economy

Pastoralism, agriculture and mining were the primary drivers of Queensland's economy during its settlement and early development. By the late 1800s, a small manufacturing industry had arisen. Following World War II, tourism boomed as Queensland built up its transportation infrastructure and promoted the attractions of the state's sun, sea and surf. Resort and tourist-related industries expanded in the Whitsunday Islands, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. Mining also prospered, with new mines built and huge amounts of coal extracted and exported. By the late twentieth century, manufacturing had declined and information technology and service industries were growing.

In the twenty-first century, Queensland has a diversified economy. Minerals and agricultural products remain a strong part of its economy and its chief exports are meat, cotton, agricultural crops, coal, minerals and manufactured goods. Mineral resources include lead, zinc, silver, bauxite, copper, gold and mineral sands. Petroleum and oil shale are extracted from the state's oil and gas fields. Coal seam gas is also extracted.

Service industries have burgeoned, especially tourism, construction, retail and health and business services. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in 2021 Queensland's top industries by percentage of employed persons were hospitals, supermarket and grocery stores, primary education, other social assistance services, and takeaway food services.

Demographic

In 2023 Queensland had a population of 5,528, 282 according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This reflected a growth rate of 2.6 per cent over the previous year, making it the third-fastest growing state in Australia. In the 2021 Census, 4.6 per cent of Queensland's population identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, an increase of about 4.6 per cent over the 2016 Census. About 75 per cent of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander residents of Queensland lived in either the Brisbane or Cairns Indigenous Regions.

The majority of the Queensland population were born in Australia. About 11 per cent of Queenslanders were born overseas, with the top countries of birth in the 2021 Census including New Zealand, England, India, China, and the Philippines. About 80 per cent of people spoke English home, with others speaking Mandarin, Vietnamese, Punjabi, Spanish, and Cantonese. About 40 per cent of the people in Queensland had no religious affiliation in 2021, with about 30 per cent being Catholic or Anglican.

Bibliography

"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures." Queensland Museum, Queensland Government, www.qm.qld.gov.au/Find+out+about/Aboriginal+and+Torres+Strait+Islander+Cultures#.WE2SI0uteGb. Accessed 18 June 2024.

"About the Queensland Economy." Queensland Treasury, 7 May 2024, www.treasury.qld.gov.au/queenslands-economy/about-the-queensland-economy/. Accessed 18 June 2024. "Creation of a State." Queensland Government, 20 July 2018, www.qld.gov.au/about/about-queensland/history/creation-of-state. Accessed 18 June 2024.

Fitzgerald, Ross. Made in Queensland: A New History. University of Queensland P, 2009.

"Great Barrier Reef." Australian Government, 20 July 2018, www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/great-barrier-reef. Accessed 18 June 2024.

"Native Plants." Queensland Government, 11 June 2024, www.qld.gov.au/environment/plants-animals/plants/native-plants. Accessed 18 June 2024.

"Queensland Places: Brisbane and Greater Brisbane." Centre for the Government of Queensland, University of Queensland, 2015, queenslandplaces.com.au/brisbane-and-greater-brisbane. Accessed 18 June 2024.